The Philosophy

The Glashütte Original manufactory brings the finest in watchmaking traditions together and combines them, under one roof, with the most advanced of contemporary materials and production technologies.

Although no single definition of the term has been accepted by all in the industry, the term manufactory is generally reserved for watchmaking firms that design and manufacture their own movements an extraordinarily complex and time-consuming process.

For Glashütte Original to have its own manufactory is an absolute necessity. Inhouse design and manufacture of thousands of precision components ensures that each of the exquisite mechanical movements for which the firm is known around the world meets the highest possible standards of quality: nothing less is acceptable.

Only when this objective is met can the traditional work of a manufactory begin. Components are delicately finished, lavishly engraved and galvanized, after which they are assembled. The components pass through many skilled hands before they arrive at the watchmaker, who assembles them, patiently and with great precision, step by step and hour after hour, until a masterful timepiece has been completed.

Assembly

Among the distinctive features of watches made by Glashütte Original are the characteristic three-quarter plate with Glashütte ribbing, a broad range of galvanized surfaces, polished steel components, screw-mounted gold chatons, blued screws, beveled component edges, hand-engraved decorations and the single or double swan-neck fine adjustment. Finely worked dials from the firm´s own dial manufactory, filigreed hands and elaborately finished cases from an exclusive partner ensure incomparable brilliance and account for stories of "love at first sight".

On completion of assembly, the watch is subjected to further controls: rate precision, water resistance, shock resistance, and numerous other properties are tested in detail. Only at the end of this rigorous process may a watch from Glashütte Original be presented to its owner.